Midnight Serenade
by CrimsonLily82
Summary: Those who knew his secret expected him to move on...and indeed, he does pretend he had...it would also what HE would have wanted...but try as he might he can't seem to be able to let go of ghosts of the past..."Zero..what do I do...?"


_**Midnight Serenade**_

_by CrimsonLily82_

_-----_

Hello hello everyone! Lily here! Though I'm a big fan of this fandom, this is my the first time posting and actual and finished chapter for one of the stories buzzing around in my head. This one just popped out of the blue, but I've put much effort in developing it,so I hope that you'll all like it! (and review please! Lol. Reviews are the lifeblood of writers like me ^^.)

Pairings: You'd all have to read on further for that, but I guess my disclaimer does give it away ^^.

**Disclaimer: **

_**I claim no part of VK that's in the possession of Matsuri Hino,**_

_**Only do I have my love for Kaname and Zero,**_

_**So gentle readers please don't sue,**_

_**Or better yet, please read and review.**_

_**-------**_

_**Night 1: LM**_

A waiter hovered unobtrusively by his elbow, waiting patiently for his acknowledgment. He paused in his conversation with a certain blond-haired noble and turned towards the latter who bowed slightly in respect.

"My lord..." and imperceptibly held up a tray of wine.

The other picked up two flutes of red wine, thanked the waiter and excused himself from his companion. Deftly making his way through the crowd, his movements like those of a dance of grace and power, and impervious to the looks of adoration and admiration turned his way, he headed straight towards the lone figure lounging by the far wall near the balcony doors.

It seemed like half a minute had passed by, when the in truth it had only been five seconds, before the figure in repose deigned to acknowledge him with a cool glance.

"Takuma."

"Kaname-sama, I've brought you something to drink." and held up the glass on his right.

Kaname flicked a glance at the flute of crystal playing vessel to a generous amount of the rarest and oldest wine known to vampire memory: blood wine.

"It is as I have told you before Takuma," came the pureblood's quiet and chiding voice, "I would have gotten a glass myself if I had wanted one."

Despite his predisposition to be optimistic and being cheerful even in the face of adversity, Takuma faltered a bit and became awkward when confronted with the mild rebuke. He slapped his forehead mentally as he became more aware of the attention they were garnering. Kaname had wanted some privacy, hence obviously his present location. His coming over had only served the purpose of drawing the dreaded attention the pureblood had put meticulous effort to shun. But then again, it had become over the years for Kaname to unerringly find places like these during parties where he could observe yet not be observed in turn. It reminded Takuma of another such individual, that despite possessing outstanding beauty still somehow managed to become inconspicuous, a no easy feat. If that person were here, no doubt Kaname-sama would still be his old self, smiling and mingling with the other guests, charming them the hell out of their suspicions.

If only...

Then realizing what road of thought he was headed, Takuma gave an imperceptible gasp and immediately shied away from his musings. Besides, Kaname-sama having a propensity for dark corners or walls was none of anyone's business but his. And anyway, it was like a secret art of becoming invisible, which for Kaname has to be a very rare and much needed commodity, given to who he was and his standing in their society. And he, Takuma, said to be one of Kaname's oldest and closest friends, had just ruined one of these moments where Kaname had his time all to himself. He smacked himself once again mentally and sighed. He wondered if the saying 'blonds could be such airheads' could have basis after all.

Unknown to him, Kaname watched the conflicting thoughts warring so transparently on his childhood friend's face and felt his minor irritation melt away, to be replaced by amusement. He could not be pressed for long to hold such negative feelings for his friends. After all, all they had in mind were his best interests at heart, even if they do blunder about with their timing or with reading the mood and atmosphere surrounding him. It can't be helped as they didn't know him as well as that person did...

Kaname felt himself mentally recoil from the direction his thoughts were heading and absently rubbed at his neck when he felt that old familiar and bittersweet pang. It had been so long now that he hardly noticed it, just as breathing is natural to him as to the next person. Though admitting it not even to himself, the emotions that fleeted through him even so slightly whenever it happened haunted him like a specter each and everyday of a past that could no longer be his.

Takuma opened his mouth to fill the silence that had unnaturally descended upon them, thinking feverishly of a safe topic in which to converse in, when a slender hand gently removed the glass from his tense fingers.

"But all the same, thank you." Takuma looked up to see Kaname tipping the ruby colored liquid down his throat and gave a relieved smile.

Despite all the musings that had gone through both their heads, only a few seconds have actually come and gone from then.

Takuma silently studied his friend while absently nursing his nearly forgotten drink. The years hadn't wrought even an imperceptible change in Kaname's appearance, well perhaps except his hair, which had grown just a tad bit longer around his nape and eyes. There was also now an air of tangible power and danger around him that seemed to have been muted in the past.

Over the years, Kaname had taken over the role and the persona of the vampire prince that nearly everyone in the vampire community had expected him to be.

Takuma as well as a handful of others weren't deceived. Despite what everyone else might think, Kaname doesn't bow down to anyone's wishes or will, much less to the whims of their fickle society. If ever Kaname decide to do something, it always has an ulterior and underlying purpose, set to benefit him or whatever plans he might have. He didn't mean for Kaname to sound so...cold-blooded, but neither could he fault it as it was in their natures to be such, a tribute to their lineage as vampires. And neither could also one survive in their particular community by just drinking blood.

Never has Kaname acted without this innate sense of manipulativeness, inherited in his blood along with his pureblood powers, a subconscious savage and primal whisper glossed down with civility that the world was his playground. Except... Oh well, that time was long past, and the Kaname of the present is what their world knows and reveres.

So perfect does he carry his role as royalty that as time had passed Kaname built more and more of a distance even between him and his inner circle of nobles that they now treated him with even more respect and reverence than before, as opposed to the slight but growing familiarity in the past. There had been a time when Takuma thought that Kaname would be saved from this freezing isolation imposed upon him by the simple fact of who, or more like what he was, but that time now only existed in the memories of a few, and now, they dealt with the perfect vampire prince, cold and ruthless in his dealings, true to his blood and never ruled by his emotions.

He was then pulled out of his reveries when he heard a long suffering sigh from his right.

"I don't suppose you have any idea where the errant guest of honor is, do you? Who could have had the bright idea that one who doesn't even have the common courtesy or even an idea of how to be a proper guest could very well do better as a special one? He could have done very well to be the first to arrive, at the least." Takuma glanced at his companion uneasily. Kaname was studying the empty glass at his ease, the fragile crystal cupped almost lovingly by long slender hands, looking almost bored and with an eyebrow raised sardonically. But he knew better. Kaname was more dangerous, if that were even possible when he gets like this.

Contrary to popular belief, Kaname loathed social or any other kinds of gatherings. The blond noble knew that despite the other's relaxed demeanor, underneath was a rising impatience that might soon decide that waiting for the scientist was but a waste of time which could be better utilized by dealing with those damn papers that had recently come in from one of his minor divisions. He also suspected that Kaname maybe working towards becoming cranky as he had missed sleep for several days now due to problems cropping up one after another. But in addition to that, he also knew that this meeting between Kaname and the acclaimed doctor was crucial, pivotal even, not only because it had long been postponed and it would be a while again until their schedules could be cleared enough to allow for them to meet, but also because it would represent a giant step for the entire vampire community at large.

So now, he had to settle for placating Kaname and wishing silently and fervently that the elusive doctor would show up already.

"Ah...well, Kaname...this scientist is known to be...what's the word for it?....ah! that's it! eccentric, if you know what I mean..."

"If you mean eccentric as in mad, well then, yes I do."

"No! no--"

"No? Then what do you call a scientist who further develops blood tablets in strawberry flavor? Or even apple when you think about it. Mad I tell you." Kaname intoned with a slight quirk of his lips.

"Oh...I guess...Bu-But that's not the point! I meant that from what I heard he just has some weird habits-- that's all. For a vampire, that is. That aside, if you'd like to pass the time there are a lot of ladies in here who'd be delighted to have you take them on a whirl around the dance floor..."

Too late did he realize his blunder as he felt the last word unstoppably leave his lips, helpless but to gaze at the cold brown eyes trained at him. Only Kaname could ever make chocolate browns look like chips of ice.

"You overstep yourself Takuma," was the quiet and dark warning he gave the fidgeting noble for the remark that he took as the likes of those given by the Council and other nobles for him to choose a bride and produce an heir for the vast Kuran holdings. It had long since been a forbidden topic with him as it had given him enough grief in the past. Takuma should have known better than to broach the subject.

"I meant no offense, Kaname..." Takuma caught the eye of Senri from across the room, and it was obvious to the latter the former's distress. Taking pity on his miserable friend, Senri started to make his way towards the duo by the dark corner, with the intent to rescue, though by doing so gained the attention of his companions who were banded together.

"Where are you going, Senri?" asked Aido Hanabusa of the bed hair, no, bad hair, no wait, of the unruly hair,of the departing noble.

"To go rescue a puppy."

The others all looked blankly after him, and seemed ready to ask more questions, but Senri ignored them, passing a restless hand through his mussed dark auburn locks. The others had no other choice but to follow with their eyes the direction to which he was headed to decipher his cryptic message.

--------

Threading slowly through the throng of people, Senri thought about the situation. Since when did even Takuma start to need to be saved from Kaname from time to time? What a silly question. Of course Senri knew...Since that long ago night.

--------

Just as Kaname moved to push off the wall, a commotion by the double doors leading into the ballroom caught his attention, making him shift his notice from his anger at Takuma's well meaning but tactless words to what was causing the vampires by the door's vicinity to become a-twitter.

Takuma stepped up beside him and announced with a relieved and sheepish grin.

"Well now, it seems that the recluse sensei has deigned to make an appearance after all."

---*---

CHAPTER END

**A/N: **

Well, I hope you guys liked it!! Oh, and by the way, I have kind of set-up a little game or something for you guys. For the chapter titles I've only put up the initials since I think it'd be fun for you readers are the ones who would guess what they actually do stand for. But this game of mine would only work if you'd all care to read the next chapter, since the one to guess correctly will have half of the next chapter sent to them perhaps a day earlier than I would post in the FF. How does that sound? Would anybody be up for it?


End file.
